pyHDB - heuristic tool for the Brazilian Newspaper Digital Library: using web scraping technics for Historical research

Abstract

This article aims to analyze the relationship between search tools and users’ interfaces in digital source repositories and the construction of historical knowledge in the digital age. Therefore, I analyze the pyHDB: Heuristic Tool for the Brazilian Digital Newspaper Library of the National Library, characterizing its technical, methodological and heuristic aspects. The tool is a computer program written in the Python programming language and uses web scraping techniques. Its purpose is to assist researchers in the process of methodological construction and recording, creating reports, tabular data and datasets from the defined search parameters. First, the results generated by the Hemeroteca Digital Brasileira graphical interface are critically analyzed. Then, the pyHDB, both its ethical and technical aspects and analytical possibilities, is presented in detail through three search examples. Finally, in the concluding remarks, the advantages of developing and using digital methodological tools for historical research are discussed.